I'll Be Seeing You
by adoringorham
Summary: Ever since Auggie was turned down by Dr. Kessel he has been going on with his life just like he had been before, but what happens when he gets an unexpected phone call from the doctor who years ago told him there was no hope of seeing again? (sorry I'm really bad at summaries and this one doesn't live up to the story)
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my very first Covert Affairs fanfic so I really hope you like it. I wanna thank Finlaure13 for proof reading this for me and for her and meburleson for encouraging me to write this. Unfortunately I do not own Covert Affairs, but if I did it would still be on the air. So now without further adieu...enjoy!**

It was a quiet day at the CIA. There were no serious threats to be keeping an eye on. Annie was sitting at her desk decoding a Russian file for Joan while Auggie was working on a piece of code on his computer. He had always been into computers and tech savvy since he was a teenager. He was always taking apart or putting back together computers. It was just something he enjoyed doing and was really good at. It was the one thing that never really changed since losing his sight while in Iraq. I mean yeah he had to do it differently, but the feeling he had when he did was the same. It made him feel a sense of accomplishment.

Auggie was briefly lost in thought when he vaguely heard the sound of familiar footsteps walking up to his office. How could he not know whose they were? They belonged to Annie, his favorite operative and girlfriend. As she walked up to the office he took off the headphones he was wearing while he was working on his code and looked up to where he heard her coming.

"What are you thinking about?" Annie asked as she walked into the room.

"Hm?" Auggie asked back. Today was one of those days where Auggie was feeling more down about his lack of sight than he usually was. For the most part Auggie was a confident, independent guy who didn't let his disability define him as a person, but for some reason today was just not one of those days. "What are you thinking about?" Annie asked again.

"Oh, it's no big deal, really I'm fine." Auggie answered back. Annie knew something was up, but she wasn't going to pry. Auggie was the type of person who didn't show much emotion, and she knew that if he didn't want to talk about it to not go on about it so she decided drop it.

"I haven't seen you at all today. I've been so busy trying to decode that file for Joan. How about we go and grab a bite to eat? I'm starving since I haven't moved from my desk since this morning." Annie said to Auggie.

"Yeah, that sounds great. Just give me a minute." Auggie said back.

"Okay, I'll be at my desk when you're ready." Annie answered, and she turned around and walked out of Auggie's office.

Before leaving his office Auggie went to his desk drawer and recovered his white cane from it before he got up and walked over to where Annie said she would be at her desk.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yeah, let's go." Auggie said. Then Annie touched Auggie's hand in standard sighted guide technique and Auggie slid his hand up her arm and grabbed her elbow, and they were off. It just felt so natural to Auggie when Annie was guiding him. She was one of a very short list of people who he actually trusted when it came to people guiding him. Maybe it was that she never made a fuss about his blindness since the first day they've met, or that they always just seemed to fit so natural together. Any way he knew she was a keeper.

Once they got to the café they ordered their drinks and food and waited while the waitress put in their order. Annie and Auggie were sitting there talking about their morning and how work was going when Auggie's phone started ringing. The voice from the phone was reciting a number that Auggie thought was familiar so he answered it.

"Hello?" Auggie said into the phone.

"Auggie, it's Dr. Kessel." Dr. Kessel Auggie thought why would he be calling me?

"Dr. Kessel?" Auggie seemed curious,

"I never expected to hear your voice again." Dr. Kessel was Auggie's only hope a few years back to ever being able to see again and after his last conversation with him those dreams were flushed down the drain.

"We're doing some new tests with stem cells, and I was looking back on your file. You seem like a good candidate for this trial, if you're interested." Auggie sat there in the booth speechless. Annie was looking at him wondering what was going on. Then Auggie spoke,

"Are, are you serious?" he asked.

"Yes absolutely." Dr. Kessel answered back. Auggie just didn't know what to think. He had thrown all those dreams of seeing away after the last time he had spoken with Dr. Kessel. Then he thought for a second.

"What if it didn't work and I put all my hopes up again for nothing, but then what if it could actually work this time and it could improve my life."

Annie knew something was up so she placed her hand on top of Auggie's hand on the table. When Auggie felt her touch he knew then that he wanted this opportunity. Not only because he could see, but that he could finally see Annie.

"Yes Dr. Kessel that sounds great!" Auggie tried not to sound too excited on the phone.

"Thank you so much for this opportunity."

"You're welcome Auggie. When we meet next we'll talk more about the details." And with that he hung up the phone.


	2. Chapter 2

After Auggie hung up the phone with Dr. Kessel he and Annie sat there in silence for a minute. Auggie had a look of disbelief and joy on his face. Annie knew something was up because of the conversation she had just heard so she finally asked, "What was that all about?"

Auggie, still in shock, finally came back to earth and thought, "how am I going to tell Annie that I had the opportunity to get my sight back a couple years ago without telling her and to explain to her that I may be getting my sight back? And, why am I even worrying about this in the first place? It's Annie for crying out loud, she'll understand." So Auggie, maybe a little too excitedly, blurted out, "I'm going to get my eyesight back!"

"What?" Annie was just as shocked as Auggie was when he heard this news. "When, how?" she had so many questions to ask him she didn't know where to begin.

"I don't know for sure when the actual procedure will take place. They still have to do a few more tests, but Dr. Kessel thinks now that I'll be a good candidate for this trial of stem cells," Auggie answered Annie.

Then Annie asked curiously, "now, what do you mean by now?"

Now Auggie knew it was explaining time. "A couple years ago I underwent some tests for another stem cell procedure with the same doctor to possibly get my eye sight back. Unfortunately, the last time didn't turn out for the best as you can tell." Auggie said trying to play it off like it was not big deal just like he always did.

Annie just sat there on the other side of the booth watching Auggie as he talked. Then she spoke up and said, "why didn't you tell me this before when it was happening before Auggie? I would've been there for support."

Auggie replied, "Because I didn't want anyone to fuss about it and I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up in case it didn't work, which last time it didn't. I didn't want anyone's pity. But this time I'm telling you because you are my girlfriend and we're in this together." As he said that he smiled, looking as though he was looking Annie right in the eye.

"Damn straight we are. We make a great team. I'm so happy you're going to get this opportunity again," Annie said smiling back.

Back at work Auggie had a hard time focusing with the news he'd just received. He just still couldn't believe that with everything that he'd been through that he would have this opportunity handed to him again. He thought about telling Joan about the good news, but didn't want to jinx it until after his appointment later in the week. "Wow," he thought to himself, "just imagine me being able to actually go back in the field again as an operative. No one having to help me, not having to stay in the safe house while the other operative got to do all the fun work. This is going to be the start of something great."

A few days later Auggie was sitting in the waiting room at Dr. Kessel's office. Right on time the nurse called him back to the examination room. Auggie got up from his seat, unfurled his cane, and walked over to where he heard the young woman call his name. When he got to where she was she grabbed Auggie's arm and started walking down the hall. Auggie, impatient by the way she was guiding him, stopped and asked her if he could hold her arm instead, telling her that it was easier that way for him. A little embarrassed by the whole ordeal, the nurse took Auggie's arm and guided it to her elbow and off they went to the room.

About fifteen minutes later Dr. Kessel walked into the room. "Auggie, how're you?" Dr. Kessel asked him as he walked in.

"I'm good," Auggie answered. That was the truth, but there was a hint of nervousness in his answer.

"Don't worry Auggie there's nothing to be nervous about," Dr. Kessel said trying to lighten the mood, "the test we're going to do today will just be an MRI just to see how much more the swelling in your brain has gone down since the last time."

"Sounds good doctor lets get this started." Auggie enthusiastically said.

The MRI took twenty minutes. After that Auggie went back to the patient room as he waited for the test results to come back. Forty minutes later Dr. Kessel came back in the room. "Everything looks good on my end Auggie," he said, "the swelling has gone down tremendously since your last MRI."

"That's great," Auggie said back to Dr. Kessel, "now could you tell me more about this procedure?"

"I was just about to tell you that. In this procedure we will be implanting embryonic stem cells into both of your eyes in hopes of you gaining some or even all of your sight back. Now I want to be very clear with you, the probability of you regaining all your sight back is very rare. I just want you to be aware of that in case you get your hopes up." Dr. Kessel explained to Auggie.

Auggie sat there taking all this information in. He didn't care if he wasn't one hundred percent sighted by the end of this treatment. As long as he wasn't blind, that was all that mattered to him.

"So, what do you say Auggie? Are you still up for doing this?" Dr. Kessel asked him.

"Yes, absolutely," Auggie excitedly answered back.

"Glad to hear it," Dr. Kessel said, "we can set up your surgery day for next week if you would like?"

"Sounds great," Auggie said, "I'll have to check with work to get it off, but I'm sure there will be no problem in doing so."

"Then I'll set up the appointment for next week Wednesday and if there's a conflict just call the office and the receptionist can reschedule you," Dr. Kessel said back to Auggie.

"Great, next Wednesday it is," Auggie responded and Dr. Kessel shook his hand and left the room. Now the only next obstacle he had, which he really wasn't worried at all about, was telling Joan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! Sorry for the little gap in updating, gotta love writer's block, but I'm glad to be getting back to the writing and this journey we're taking with Auggie. Thanks again to Finlaure13 for proof reading this, and please, please review. You don't know how much I appreciate your opinions and feedback. Alright no more jabbering, here's chapter 3, enjoy!**

After Auggie's appointment with Dr. Kessel he couldn't wait until the next day to tell Joan about the procedure he was going to have to regain his sight. As soon as he walked out of the building he called Stuart, his driver, and had him pick him up and take him over to Langley. On the way there he couldn't help but feel anxious, but why, he didn't know. Of anyone that Auggie worked with, besides Annie, Joan had the utmost respect for Auggie. He'd been working for her before he went off to Iraq, before his accident, and Joan made sure when he came back that Auggie had a job secured within the agency, but there was still that little bit of uneasiness Auggie felt about the whole situation.

When Stuart dropped him off Auggie thanked him and then made his way through the halls of the CIA that he had memorized so well. Then when he made it to Joan's office he knocked a couple times on the closed door. Joan was working on a document when she heard Auggie knocking on the door.

"Yeah," Joan answered when she heard the tapping on her door. Auggie then walked through the door.

"Oh, hi, Auggie, there's a chair about a foot in front of you." Auggie, walking with one hand stretched in front of him and his laser cane in the other found the chair and sat down.

"I thought you had left for the day, what's on your mind?" Auggie took a deep breathe, it was now or never.

"I'm going to need a few months off work if that's alright Joan."

"Yes, you know that's fine Auggie. You have so much vacation time saved up it's nice to see you using some of it. Can I ask you why a few months though?" Joan asked a little concerned. Usually if Auggie ever uses vacation time it's only for a day or two and then he's back to work.

"I'm going to be having some surgery to possibly regain my eyesight and I need the couple months off to recuperate and adjust to being able to see again." Joan was silent for a second and Auggie didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Joan's silence was definitely a good thing. Of all the years she's known Auggie, before and after his accident, she never would have thought to ever hear that Auggie was going to be able to see again. She had seen how much of a toll the accident had put on him in the first place and it hurt her to see her operative being forced into a situation that he had no control over. This news had definitely struck a sensitive part in Joan because when she heard Auggie say that he was going to regain his vision she got a little teary eyed.

"Oh Auggie, of course it's okay for you to take a few months off work. Heck, take as much time as you need and tell Annie too. This makes me so happy you have no idea."

"Oh I'm sure I do," Auggie said with a smile, "and thank you so much Joan. One more thing, could you just keep this between us until I know the procedure worked and everything's going smoothly? I don't want any awkwardness otherwise."

"Yes absolutely, your secret is safe with me and you're welcome Auggie. I'll see you when you get back," Joan said with a grin.

"Yeah, I'll see you then. Thanks again Joan," When Auggie got up to leave he heard Joan get up as well and walk over to where he was standing.

Joan then gave Auggie a hug and whispered, "Good luck," in his ear. After the embrace Auggie turned around toward the door he had just come through and walked out.

Back at Auggie's apartment Annie was waiting for him on the couch when he walked through the door.

"How did everything go today," Annie asked Auggie as soon as he walked through the door and over to the credenza to drop off his messenger bag and cane.

"Great, everything went great! Dr. Kessel said that I'm cleared and able to have the surgery next Wednesday, and I told Joan about the whole situation and taking off work and she said to take as much time as I need and that you can take work off too," Auggie said as he worked his way over to the couch to sit next to Annie. When he sat down Annie leaned into Auggie's side and rested her head on his chest.

"I'm so happy for you Auggie. I just hope that once you're able to see you're happy with what you see."

"How could you even think for a second that I wouldn't like seeing you Walker? I've been waiting since the first day I met you to have an opportunity like this, and to actually have it, it's a dream come true. I know for a fact that what I see I won't regret at all. I love you Annie."

"I love you too Auggie and I know it was silly of me to think that. I know no matter what, sight or no sight you love me for me and that's the same for me to you." Then Annie looked up and kissed Auggie on his lips.

"You got that right," Auggie said between kisses, "I just know that you'll be just as hot, or even hotter than the image I already have of you in my mind."

"Oh do you now," asked Annie playfully.

"Yes, don't underestimate this blind man's abilities," Auggie said back.

"Then why don't we go use some of those abilities and we go up to the bedroom?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Covert Affairs and if I did we'd happily be enjoying a season 6 right now, but I am glad to be writing this story and to be going on this journey with you guys (: Please, please review! I'd love to hear what you have to say.

The rest of the week heading up to his surgery Auggie was getting anxious and excited. He couldn't believe that in just a short amount of time he would be able to see for the first time again in such a long time. He couldn't wait to see the green grass and the blue sky. He couldn't wait to see the moon and stars, but the one thing that he was so excited and ready to see was Annie. God, was he ready to see her. He had been ready to see her since the first day he met her four years prior at the CIA. He couldn't wait to see just how accurate of an image he had in his mind of her and what there was to come. Just Auggie thinking about this put a smile on his face. Just then Annie came into the sitting area and took a seat at the opposite end of the couch that Auggie was sitting on.

"What are you so smiley about?"

"I still can't stop thinking about seeing, and seeing you. I can't believe the surgery is finally tomorrow. Like, it's finally going to happen."

"I know," Annie said, "I can't believe it's almost here too, and I'm so excited for you. As soon as you get out of the hospital we're going on a road trip. I want you have to the best second first sight experience you've ever had if that just made any sense," Annie said with a giggle.

Auggie laughed, "as confusing as that sounds I understand you completely. I'm so going on a retreat and getting away. It'll be nice to see some of the world away from DC that I haven't seen in so long. Where are you thinking about taking us to?"

"Oh no, this will be your first time in six years seeing again so you're picking where we go."

Auggie thought for a second. It was the middle of September on the east coast. The trees were starting to change colors and it still was fairly warm outside. Then he had it. Why not drive up the east coast up to Maine? It was always so beautiful this time of year and what a perfect backdrop that would be for their vacation.

"I can see it in your eyes, where are you thinking of?"

"Let's go to Maine. It'll be great and gorgeous this time of year."

"Auggie that's a great choice, okay, so we're going to Maine," Annie said excitedly. She was just as anxious and excited for this journey with Auggie to take place with him being able to see. She even thought she was even more ecstatic about it than he was which she totally understood. Annie knew that he wasn't as enthused as she was because of the situation he had had previously with the surgery not even happening, but there had to be someone in the bunch that had to be optimistic and if it had to be her then so be it. All of a sudden Annie's stomach growled and Auggie heard it as well.

"You a little hungry there?" he asked Annie.

"Yeah, I guess so. Let's go grab a bite and then when we get back we'll pack what we need to take with us to the hospital tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Auggie said back as he got up from the couch. Annie followed him over to the door and as Auggie passed the credenza he grabbed his messenger bag and cane and then Annie's arm and they both walked hand and hand out the door.

Auggie woke the next day to the sound of his alarm clock saying, "six o'clock a.m., six o'clock a.m." He and Annie had to be at the hospital at eight so that Auggie could be prepped and ready for his surgery that was at nine. Unfortunately for Auggie hadn't got much sleep that night. The anticipation of the surgery was just too much for him. He slid out from under the covers and sat in the edge of the bed with his feet on the floor. He sat there a second and then heard Annie start to stir next to him. Then Auggie got up and made his way to the bathroom where he could do his business and shower before they had to leave for the hospital. While Auggie was doing that Annie made some coffee for herself and then went back into the bedroom to change and wait for Auggie to emerge from the bathroom. Because Auggie was having surgery in just a couple hours he couldn't eat anything prior to it so Annie just opted for some coffee and thought about grabbing a bite at the hospital while Auggie was in surgery so she didn't have to eat in front of him. Soon Auggie came out of the bathroom and Annie and he switched places, him getting dressed and her brushing her teeth and making herself look decent. When Annie was done she walked out and stopped in the door frame just looking at Auggie as he was finishing putting on his sweat pants and t-shirt. She could tell that he looked a little apprehensive but that was normal for anyone who was about to have surgery, but she was also so proud of him as well. Just with all the things that he has had to overcome and with everything that was to come. She was just so happy to have him in her life. All of a sudden Auggie looked up and over to where he knew Annie was standing. He then said, "you're staring at me."

"I know," she said back.

"Still not fair, I'm not able to reciprocate yet."

"Oh stop whining, you'll be able to soon," Annie said playfully. Auggie smiled back.

"I think we're all ready to head out," Auggie said.

"Alright, let's move on out," Annie said back. Then they both moved toward the door. As they were getting all their things together and Auggie was grabbing his cane and messenger bag he thought, "This will be the last time, hopefully, that I'll be in my apartment as a blind man." This thought made Auggie super happy and finally truly ready to have this eye surgery. Then he, like he always did, he slid the door to his loft shut and took Annie's arm.

Once they arrived at the hospital Annie and Auggie made their way through the many halls to the ophthalmologist waiting room. Auggie, with the help of Annie, had to fill out some paperwork. As soon as they were finished with the paperwork a nurse came in to call Auggie back to the prep room for surgery. Annie and Auggie both got up and Annie guided Auggie over to where the nurse was. Annie then gave Auggie a kiss and told him she loved him and that she'd be there right when we was awake and out of surgery. Auggie told her he loved her too and then took the nurses arm and they were gone. Back in the prep room the nurse took Auggie's blood pressure and asked him when the last time he had ate was. Then the anesthesiologist came in and asked Auggie a few questions and talked to him briefly about how the procedure was going to play out with them injecting the stem cells into him eyes. Once he had left the nurse then started hooking him up to IVs. For the most part they were just giving him medication to relax him. Then before Auggie knew it he was being wheeled into the operating room. Once he was settled on the operating table he heard Dr. Kessel's voice say, "Auggie you ready to do this?" Auggie just nodded. Then the anesthesiologist put the sleeping gas over Auggie's mouth and said, "Start counting back from one hundred."

"One hundred, ninety nine, ninety eight...," and Auggie was out.


	5. Chapter 5

Yay the muse back! Thanks to everyone sticking with me on this journey, I can't wait to finally start writing about Auggie post-surgery. This is going to be fun! As I've said before I sadly don't own Covert Affairs or the characters, but they hold a special place in my heart. Oh, and pretty please review. I love hearing what you guys have to say! And big shout out to my Covert Crew, love you guys!

"Auggie… Auggie." Auggie was hearing Annie call his name. He was standing in the middle of a white, brightly lit room just hearing her call for him. The room he was in was so bright that all he could see was light in every direction. Was that Annie? He started walking towards her, towards the voice he was hearing. With his hand stretched out in front of him he felt himself moving faster, trying to find where in the room she could be.

"Auggie," her voice was coming closer, but he still wasn't able to fully see what was in front of him. It was still extremely bright for him to see anything. When he finally reached her and she grabbed his hand he wondered where exactly in front of him she was. Why could he see but not see her?

"Annie? Why can't I see you? What is happening?" Auggie was in a panic.

"You can see Auggie," she responded nonchalantly.

"No, I mean yeah, but I can't see you."

He felt her let go of his hand and she walked away.

"Annie," Auggie said, "ANNNNNIIIEEEEE!"

Annie was sitting with Auggie in his hospital room waiting for him to wake up when all of a sudden she heard him whispering something, was it her name?

She listened more carefully and heard, "Annie, Annie."

She quickly grabbed his hand trying to calm him and said, "It's okay, Auggie, I'm right here. Everything is fine."

Auggie started stirring at the sound of her voice and when he finally woke was surprised at what he saw. Darkness. Not that it really mattered to him anyway. He'd been blind and used to the darkness for eight years now, but with everything and the little bit of hope he did have he started freaking out.

"Annie I still can't see. Why can't I still see?"

"Auggie, Auggie, calm down, shhhhhh. It's okay you still have bandages covering your eyes." Once Annie told him that he lifted his hands up to his eyes and right in his field of vision there was in fact two bandages covering each eye. Auggie chuckled, if it wasn't for him being so drugged up and a little drowsy he might've discovered the bandages in the first place. He felt a little embarrassed at the way he had just reacted.

"Just relax, Auggie, everything will be okay," Annie said to comfort him, "you need to just relax." Then he heard her get up and say, "I'm going to go tell the nurse you're awake, I'll be right back." A few minutes later Annie returned with the nurse who introduced herself to Auggie as Jessica. Then she took Auggie's blood pressure, asked him how he was doing and if he needed anything and that Dr. Kessel was making his rounds now and should be seeing him shortly.

Annie and Auggie were watching TV; well Annie was watching Auggie was listening, when Dr. Kessel walked into the room. Annie turned the volume down and they both veered their attention to him.

"Hi, Auggie, Annie," he said as he walked in the room and over to where Auggie lay sitting up in bed. "The stem cells were placed perfectly and the surgery went well. Now there's a twenty-four-hour waiting period for the stem cells to embed themselves and show their magic before we know if the surgery was in fact a complete success. You're only the third person I've done this procedure on but the other two were a success so I don't see why you would have a problem either. I'll come back here tomorrow around 9am to take the bandages off and hopefully have some good news for you as well." At this Auggie had a look of unease mixed with hope. Hope because the other two patients who had gone through this procedure were back to their normal lives, well as normal as they'd be, but unease because there could be that possibility that just because it worked on them doesn't mean it would be a success for him.

Just to ease Auggie a little, he said assuredly, "Don't worry, Auggie, I have no doubt that it won't be successful for you too. I just have to tell you the alternative that you may not have 20/20 vision or that you may still be blind. I have to say this because I don't want to get your hopes up and have you expect one thing when the alternative could happen instead, just to be clear."

"Okay, I understand, thank you doctor," Auggie said after Dr. Kessel was finished with his speech.

Then Dr. Kessel patted Auggie's shoulder, said, "See you tomorrow," shook Annie's hand, and then left the room. Auggie let out a long, heavy sigh, for what he wanted was to take the bandages off now and know the verdict. Annie could tell he was anxious just by how Auggie was fiddling with the edge of the blanket that was covering him. Heck, she was too. Still having to wait to know the answers to the surgery and just sitting in the little hospital room wasn't helping at all.

"Hey Auggie, why don't we go for a walk and get some fresh air, the nurse said that you're free to get up and walk, what do you say?"

Auggie looked over in Annie's direction and said, "Yeah, that sounds good."

Annie helped Auggie out of bed and gave him a pair of sweat pants, a t-shirt, and a pair of slippers that she had packed for him for after the surgery. Once he was changed out of his hospital gown Annie handed him his cane from his messenger bag. Luckily he wasn't hooked up to any IVs, so maneuvering around wouldn't be hard for them. Auggie unfurled his cane and Annie gave him her arm and they were off down the hall of the hospital to the elevator.

Auggie was glad to be doing this to get his mind off everything going on, and he was especially glad to be with Annie during it all. Annie was the one thing that brought him ease and he was grateful for that. They got off the elevator and walked up a few stairs and out through another door onto the roof of the hospital. That's what Auggie loved about Annie, always expecting the unexpected. Annie led Auggie over to a spot where they could sit.

Still holding Auggie's hand, Annie said, looking at Auggie, "You know even with those bandages covering your eyes, you're still oddly mesmerizing."

"Oh, am I? I just thought I looked like a bug because of the big bandages," Auggie said with a grin. Annie smacked him in the shoulder.

"Hey you're not supposed to hit the blind guy, let alone the blind guy who just had surgery." Auggie said in fake pain.

"I was trying to get us in the mood, but you obviously ruined that with your comment." Annie was not amused.

"Ah, well, it would be something to make out on the roof of a hospital with you. I can honestly say I've never done that before, but right now I don't think it would be the greatest idea giving the circumstances," Auggie said. Annie understood, even if it was just eye surgery. So they just sat there still holding hands, Annie looking out at the horizon and the hustle of the city below and Auggie just listening.

Then Auggie asked Annie, "what time is it anyway, it's gotta be almost dark."

"Yeah, the sun's just about to go down."

"Describe it to me just for one last time."

"Okay. Well right now the sky is golden yellow and the surrounding clouds are a mixture of pink and grayish blue. It's quite beautiful. Oh, Auggie, I can't wait for you to actually experience this again and with me."

"Yeah, me too, but what if the surgery doesn't work, or it does but I still can't "see"?" Auggie had to get this off his chest. He'd been thinking about it and as great an opportunity this was there still was that what-if factor.

"Auggie, where is this coming from? You know no matter what happens I'll still be here right by your side through it all. There's no getting rid of me just yet. We've been through so much already there's nothing that'll stop us now, and besides, say it didn't work, well, then we'd just still keep going through everyday life like we were before, and if it works then, yay, we get a step up from what we had before. But seriously Auggie no matter what the results are when the bandages come off tomorrow I'll still love you just as much as I do now, heck maybe even more. Now stop putting yourself down and at least try to be optimistic. There's no sense in being a downer." Annie was right Auggie thought. No matter what the outcome from the surgery was, he still had the best girlfriend and life that he could ask for, despite having his disability. He just needed to be reassured sometimes.

Auggie took a deep breath, "Yeah, I know. I don't know why I'm having all these doubts about this. I know no matter what, it'll be fine. Thanks, Annie." He smiled at her and if it wasn't for the bandages he had on his eyes she could've sworn he was looking right into her eyes, "Now let's get back to that sunset. You know how I love how you describe things to me."

"Well, now the clouds surrounding the sun are all a blue gray and the sky is all a golden hue. It's actually pretty romantic." Annie said leaning into Auggie and then planted a kiss on his cheek. With that Auggie turned his head and kissed Annie, this time on the lips.

"This..really..isn't..a..good..idea," Auggie said in between kisses. "Besides, we've been gone a while; they're probably wondering where we are."

"Crap," Annie thought. She knew Auggie was right. They had been gone a while and was sure that Jessica, the nurse, was curious as to where they were.

"Alright, Anderson, you've won this time, but you owe me once you get out of here."

"Deal," Auggie said back, agreeing. Then he got up from where they were sitting and waited for Annie's arm to guide him back to his room.

The night before, Auggie hadn't slept more than twenty minutes. The day had finally come. Auggie was going to get his bandages off and see, hopefully, for the first time in eight years. He was so excited and nervous, and Annie was too. She had only known Auggie blind and saw just how confident and independent of a man he was. She just couldn't imagine what a bigger difference sight would make in her boyfriend. She couldn't wait to experience this next chapter of life with him. They had both eaten breakfast, and were sitting while Annie watched TV and Auggie was on his laptop, when they heard a knock on the door and then saw and nurse Jessica walk in the room. They walked over to Auggie on the bed and set up a tray just in front of Auggie to set the bandages on once they were peeled off. Annie stood up, too, and walked over to Auggie's side and grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Are you ready," asked Dr. Kessel.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay, all I have to say before removing the bandages is to keep your eyes closed until both the bandages are removed and then to open your eyes slowly. Then we'll go from there, sound good?"

"Yeah sounds good, let's do this." Dr. Kessel then started with the right eye and peeled the one bandage off and handed it to Jessica who set it on the tray and then he peeled the left bandage off and handed it over to Jessica who did the same as the first. Auggie sat there, eyes closed. Dr. Kessel walked over to the light switch and flicked the lights off. Since Auggie hadn't seen in so long the light would not be good for when he first opened his eyes.

Then he said from over by the light switch, "Alright, Auggie, now take as much time as you need and remember to open your eyes slowly."

Auggie's heart was beating a million miles per minute and Annie just stood there squeezing his hand, letting him know everything was okay no matter what. Then he took a deep breath, counted to three in his head, and slowly opened his eyes. At first he couldn't see anything, and then he blinked a couple times and started to make out a figure standing to his left. He knew it was Annie. After blinking a couple more times he started to get a semi-better picture of her. He could just make out the features of her face, but he could see her.

Then he said, looking in her direction, mesmerized, "Annie is that you? You're even more beautiful than I had pictured in my mind." Auggie was starting to get emotional and Annie bent down and kissed him on the lips, tears starting to flood in her eyes. She was so relieved that the surgery had in fact worked and he was able to see. When they unlocked lips Auggie looked up to where he knew Dr. Kessel was in the room, puzzled. He knew he was standing there in front of him by the light switch but to Auggie all he could see was a vivid outline of him. Why was it that with Annie up close he could see her with a bit of blurriness, but with further away he couldn't? After a few more minutes Dr. Kessel turned the lights back on. Auggie winced at the light for just a second and then when he opened his eyes still only saw a blurry Dr. Kessel.

Dr. Kessel walked back by Auggie's side and Auggie asked, "Why is everything so blurry, and why could I only make out a shadow of you when you were in front of me?" Auggie was happy that he could see again, but the fact that it was a bunch of really nothing, he was concerned.

"I told you yesterday that you may not have 20/20 vision after the surgery, but the fact that you're able to see things now and aren't completely blind makes me a very happy person Auggie," Dr. Kessel tried to explain Auggie, "let me take you down to my office and I'll give you an eye exam."

"Okay, let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay in writing, I've been busy as of late with work and life, but I'm back and ready to continue this journey with you. I hope you guys like this chapter. It was really hard for me to get in the groove of it so I hope you enjoy. Sadly I still don't own Covert Affairs and its wonderful characters. Oh, and please review! I love to hear what you guys have to say. Alrighty, and the story continues…

Dr. Kessel, with Auggie on his arm, maneuvered the two of them through the halls of the hospital to his office where he was going to give Auggie a thorough eye exam just to put him at ease. Once they got to the office Dr. Kessel showed Auggie to a chair and then he began.

"Okay, Auggie, first what I'm going to have you do is tell me on this eye chart the line you can see the clearest and what letters you see." Auggie, looking at the chart, was having a really hard time. Even looking at the big E on the first line he couldn't make it out very well and he was getting stressed out.

"Well," Auggie started, "the only thing I can make out the best is the big E and even with that I still can't "see" it well." Dr. Kessel knew right from Auggie's answer what his diagnosis was.

"Auggie you're legally blind. It means that while people with "normal" vision can see the letter E from 200 feet away you can see it from 20 feet away."

"Wait," Auggie cut in, "so you're saying that I'm still blind?"

"Well, not necessarily," said Dr. Kessel, "you can still see you just can't see as well as someone with 20/20 vison." Auggie sat there in his chair trying to take in all Dr. Kessel was saying to him.

"Now I'm going to turn the lights off and tell me what you see." Auggie saw him walk over to the light switch and as soon as the lights went out he saw nothing but a vivid shadow that was Dr. Kessel.

"I see an outline of you but other than that I don't see anything."

"Okay, and that's normal too. Auggie I know this is, in some ways, a huge disappointment but look on the other side of all this, you can see. You may still need to use your cane and such but this is definitely a vast improvement from your previous situation." Auggie thought, as Dr. Kessel was talking, that he was right, he was able to see. The outcome could've been a lot worse; he could still be completely blind so he was thankful for that. Was he upset that it wasn't as great as he had hoped it would be? Absolutely, but with what he was given he was going to take it and not let it stop him. Hell, he may be legally blind but at least now he didn't have the restrictions that he had before.

"Thank you, Dr. Kessel, for all that you've done, and you're right what I have is better than nothing," Auggie said with a smile.

"You're welcome, Auggie. I'm glad that I was able to help you. Now let's go back to your room. I'm sure Annie's anxious and I'll get the nurse to bring you your discharge papers and you'll be set to go home."

 _Home_ , Auggie thought, _I'll finally get to see it for the first time in over eight years_.

Dr. Kessel took Auggie back to his room and told Annie about Auggie's condition and that everything was fine and that he was doing well. After that he told them he'd get the nurse right on Auggie's discharge papers and then he bid them both a goodbye and left. Annie looked over at Auggie who was getting his things ready for when they left. She couldn't help but smile at him. For with everything that he had been through before he finally got a break. Yeah, his vision still wasn't perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better than before and Annie was grateful for that.

"You're staring at me again."

"Even now that you can see you can still sense that when you're not looking?"

"I've acquired lots of senses from over the years. They're never going away."

"I'm so happy for you, Auggie, I hope you know that."

"Yeah I know. It's definitely something I'll have to get used to, well for the most part. The whole white cane and braille thing will be the same," he said with some sadness in his voice.

"Hey, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You can see for crying out loud! Who cares if you still need to use those things to help you? Either way your life has improved dramatically in just a day. Be happy about that."

"I know you're right and the greatest thing from all of this is that I can see you," Auggie said walking towards Annie who was sitting on the couch on the other side of the room. When he got to her he bent down and kissed her on the forehead. Annie then lifted her head up and met her lips with his.

"Alright, let's finish packing so once the nurse comes in with the discharge papers we'll be ready to go," she said after their intimate kiss.

About 20 minutes later the nurse came in with Auggie's discharge papers and once those were taken care of Auggie was on his way out into the real world for the first time in eight years as a sighted man. He was nervous and excited, but mostly he was excited. Once they settled themselves in Annie's car they were off back to Auggie's apartment. During the drive Auggie was overwhelmed by the sights he was seeing. The green grass, trees, and the sky was a light blue void of any clouds. It really was turning out to be a perfect day. Annie glanced over at Auggie and the sight she saw was overwhelming. She'd never seen a smile quite like that on Auggie's face. Seeing that large smile on his face brought a little tear to her eyes. She was really ecstatic for her boyfriend. As they were driving home Annie took a right when they were supposed to take a left and Auggie noticed.

"Where are we going," Auggie was puzzled.

"We're going to the park. It's your first official day of seeing; you didn't actually think we were going to spend it in your apartment did you?"

"Well, I actually didn't think of it like that, but this is definitely a better option than the latter," Auggie said, looking over at Annie.

 _Wow_ , he thought, _how did I ever land a girl like her_? He was still mesmerized by her beauty.

They parked Annie's little red Volkswagen and walked hand in hand. Auggie didn't bother bringing his cane. For the most part yes he could see, and being that he was with Annie he knew he'd be out of harm's way. They reached a park bench sitting in the shade under a big oak tree. It faced a little pond that was being occupied by some ducks and a couple swans. Auggie loved it. It was the perfect scenery and he was still so baffled that he was finally able to see it instead of it being described to him. That was something he'd have to get used to since he'd been so used to that for so long, but it was something he was glad to be rid of. He was taking everything in that he could. He was almost kind of overwhelmed with everything, but it felt good. They sat there in comfortable silence for a bit and then they got up and headed back to Auggie's apartment. With everything that had happened that day, Auggie was exhausted, but it was a good kind of tired. They walked back to Annie's car, taking the long way so Auggie could take in more of the scenery. Once they got to the car they got settled and made their way back to Auggie's apartment. He was so excited to finally see it after all these years.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry it's been a while since I've updated. School got in the way and I've had some trouble with writing this chapter so I hope you all like it. Thank you to everyone still on this journey with me. Please review and enjoy!

As soon as Annie pulled up to Auggie's apartment and parked her little red VW they both grabbed their belongings from the back seat. Once everything was out of the vehicle, Auggie, out of habit, signaled to grab Annie's arm. Annie not thinking much of it tapped his hand and then they headed toward the building together. Auggie thought it odd that he was feeling a little apprehensive. It was still the same old place that he had been living in all these years; just this time he was seeing it after such a long time. It only took a couple minutes to reach Auggie's floor and his apartment door. They stood in front of it for a moment.

Finally Annie said with a smile, "This is exciting! You seeing you're apartment after all this. I'm so happy to be able to share this moment with you."

"Yeah it is! I'm glad you're here with me, he smiled back and then got his key out of his messenger bag before unlocking the door and sliding it open.

Auggie walked in first followed by Annie. They sat their stuff off to the side and then Auggie walked over by the lamp in the sitting area and turned it on. Doing this gesture was still so foreign to Auggie. Yeah he would turn a light on for guests who were over, but for him to think of doing it for himself. That was something he still had to get back in the habit of.

"So, is it all that you remember it being?" Annie asked from the couch off to the right of where Auggie stood.

"I'm not sure. I've forgotten a lot of things while being in the dark. Yeah for sure I could tell you where everything is just by where it is, but to see it there, no I don't really remember."

Auggie turned away from Annie to start getting a look at what he's been missing over the past couple years. He was so amazed at just how much he really didn't remember was in that room and with just how few things he did. He saw the two red chairs and black couch that he had bought when he first moved to DC and into the apartment. He looked up into his bedroom looking at the glowy light thingy that was above his bed that he never could figure out exactly what it was, but always liked the look of. Then he walked over into the kitchen looking directly at the piece of art that hung on the wall that he had purchased a couple months after his accident. It was a portrait of the word "LOVE" in big, bold, braille letters. Auggie always liked it because he really felt like it defined him as a person. Not because he was blind, but because of all the things that he had accomplished while he was blind and even now as a newly sighted man. And he also just liked how everyone said it looked in the room and how much of a conversational piece it was. He stood looking at it. It was the first time he'd actually seen it, and finally being able to see it brought a little tear to his eye.

After taking a look around his loft Auggie walked back over to Annie. Annie could tell by how the way he made his way back to her that he was still maneuvering around like he was still blind. She didn't mention it though. She knew that it would take him some time to readjust. When Auggie got next to Annie he sat down next to her wrapping his arms around her burrowing his face in her hair breathing in her grapefruit shampoo, the one familiar thing in his life at the moment.

Bringing his head back up from her hair Auggie felt that he was starting to get a migraine. Reaching over Annie he turned the lamp off next to her. Not completely making out the look on her face but knowing that it was one of concern Auggie explained, "I'm starting to get a headache. I think I've officially overdone it for the day."

"It was a big day for you. Maybe you should go and give your eyes some rest. You'll have the rest of your life to experience what's in front of them."

"Yeah you're right and I am pretty exhausted."

"Let's go. We'll have more time for adventure tomorrow."

Then they both got up and headed up to Auggie's bedroom.

The next morning Auggie got up before the sunrise. He made some coffee before grabbing his cane and shoes and heading up to the roof of his apartment building. Auggie felt it still kind of weird that he still needed his cane despite the fact that he could see, but considering he'd been using it four years prior he already knew he could deal with using the device. Plus it being still rather dark outside he absolutely had no idea about where anything was.

Once Auggie made it up to the roof he oriented himself and then found a chair to sit in. It was just about time for the sun to rise and he didn't want to miss it. Vision or low vision, he was going to enjoy it no matter what. Suddenly slowly but right on time out in the distance he could see faintly the orange of the sun starting to rise. He liked the silence and the aloneness of the morning on the roof, not that he didn't like Annie's presence but being in that moment for the first time since his surgery, he needed it. He needed the time to reflect and to clear his mind.

After watching the sunrise Auggie took a deep breath of fresh air and then got up and headed back to his loft. Annie was sitting at the counter at a bar stool sipping on her coffee when Auggie walked back into the apartment.

"Where have you been?"

"On the rooftop watching the sunrise."

"Why didn't you wake me? I would've come with you."

"I know, but you looked so peaceful and I just wanted to watch it by myself."

"Oh," Annie sounded hurt.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I would've loved you being there next to me, but I just wanted to experience it alone for the first time again."

"It's okay Auggie, I understand," Annie said walking over to Auggie and then kissing him on the lips.

"So what do you want to do today? We can do whatever you want," Annie asked Auggie.

Thinking about it for a minute Auggie answered, "Let's just drive around and see what we see."

"Sounds perfect to me," Annie said looking at Auggie with a smile.


End file.
